Roleplaying game

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Chapter 2: Creating a Character
12. What concern, fear, or foible troubles 
your character the most?
Samurai are expected to maintain a controlled facade befitting of their 
station at most times, but no human can avoid having some things that 
make them anxious, afraid, or angry. Are your character’s fears or frus-
trations derived from past experiences, trauma, or personal failure? Are 
they related to a person or specific event? Does your character fully un-
derstand the source of their emotional turmoil, or do they have trouble 
expressing or even processing these feelings? As with the adversity you 
selected, you should select something that you think you will enjoy role-
playing when it becomes a challenge to your character.
Choose one anxiety disadvantage for your character. See Specific Anx-
ieties, on page 74, for a list of options. If you want to create your own 
anxiety, consult with your GM using the guidance in Creating Custom 
Advantages and Disadvantages, on page 77.
13. Who has your character learned the 
most from during their life?
Nearly every human owes some portion of their personality, strengths, 
and weaknesses to the people around them, and usually, a few people in 
particular stand out as mentors—although their influence is not always 
positive. Who has taught your character the most about life, for better or 
for worse?
An instructor in your character’s school might have set them on their 
current path, or a parent’s influence might still guide their actions. Your 
character’s lord might have served as a political mentor, showing them 
the value of compassion—or of ruthlessness—and thereby shaped their 
ethos for life. A good marriage might have led your character to a true 
peer who helped them overcome a challenge or personal obstacle, while 
a bad marriage might have left your character jaded about relationships 
overall. Having to care for a younger sibling or child might have caused 
your character to develop in unforeseen ways. Losing a loved one might 
have driven your character into anguish, or it might have forced them to 
grow in ways they never thought possible to stand on their own. A disas-
trously bad relationship or a long-running feud with a hated rival could 
have forged your character into the person they are today. Your character 
might even have met a supernatural being who has served as a guide or 
patron, or one who set a curse upon your character in exchange for giv-
ing your character power or as punishment for transgressions against the 
Celestial Order.
In the Relationships section of the character sheet, record the name of 
the person from whom your character has learned the most, along with 
the nature of their relationship. Then, choose one of the following op-
tions and gain the listed attributes:
•  One advantage related to your character’s mentor and 
their relationship.
•  One disadvantage related to your character’s mentor and their rela-
tionship, and one rank in a skill that your character developed as a 
result of your character’s closest confidante and their relationship.
If you want to create your own advantage or disadvantage, consult with 
your GM using the guidance in Creating Custom Advantages and Dis-
advantages, on page 77.
Part V: Personality and Behavior
Your character is more than a set of statistics on paper; knowing how 
they are likely to behave in a situation is important when you are role-
playing their decisions and interactions.
14. What detail do others find most 
striking about your character?
In a given region and especially within a particular clan, samurai are 
expected to behave, dress, and comport themselves in a certain way. 
Customs vary somewhat by region, and certain allowances are made for 
outsiders—a battle-hardened Crab bushi on business in a Crane court is 
hardly expected to be able to maintain perfect etiquette, although their 
manners are sure to be subtly criticized by the courtiers present.
Within their homeland, however, any aspect of a character that veers 
from the norm, from slight oddities of appearance to the most trivial 
mannerisms, tend to attract attention. A character might stand out for 
their unusual looks, strange fashion of dress, or ancestry that can be 
traced to far-flung parts of the Emerald Empire (or even beyond, in the 
case of some Unicorn families). A minor behavior, like chewing one’s lip 
when nervous or clasping one’s hands to hide trembling fingers, can be 
the thing that others remember about a character. Perhaps the character 
always says the same thing when meeting a stranger. All these things 
add subtle depth to the character—and so does a deliberate absence of 
memorable details.
Record the answer in the Notes section of your character sheet.
15. How does your character react to stressful situations?
Although samurai are supposed to maintain proper decorum and conceal 
their emotions, few of them are truly able to control their feelings at all 
times. Even the most stoic and rigidly self-controlled samurai occasional-
ly lets out a true sign of feeling, especially when they are being berated by 
their lord or treated disrespectfully by their subordinates. What emotions 
does your character show, and why? What events or feelings can make 
them lose their self-control? Conversely, what emotions can they always 
control, no matter what?
Describe a noteworthy physical response that your character has dur-
ing times of stress. Record this in the Personal Outburst section of your 
character sheet; when your character has an outburst (see page 16), 
they also display the listed behavior.
Customizing Outbursts
Outbursts are great opportunities for your character’s personality to shine 
through, so you should customize your character’s outbursts to their 
foibles. In the Customized Outburst section of the character sheet, re-
cord your character’s most common outburst from the list on page 16, 
alongside some physiological, verbal, or mental signs they display when 
having an outburst.
Does your character get loud and abrasive when enraged, or does 
their voice fall to an icy whisper? Do they fall to their knees in prayer 
when wracked with uncertainty or respond to everything as if it is a 
violent threat? Perhaps they have a simple mannerism they display as 
they grow more anxious, such as idly flexing their hands or shifting to 
a guarded posture. Do they have a particular turn of phrase they tend 
to use upon growing excited or frustrated? Come up with one or two 
examples that help breathe life into your character as they approach their 
emotional threshold.
With the GM’s permission, you can even mix and match the narrative 
and mechanical effects of outbursts, reflavor the narrative side of an out-
burst to better fit your character, or make up a wholly new outburst.

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